Falling In
by My Dear Frodo
Summary: Newt Scamander travels to Toronto, Canada, to study more fantastic beasts. When he meets Winnifred Fairbairn, a whimsy muggle girl who "fell" into his suitcase, both his and hers ideas of the world change.
1. Rush to Pantages

"Winnie, we'll have to hurry if we don't want to miss the beginning of the film," Florence called from down the stairs.

"Hurry? Flo, I never hurry," Winnie responded. She skipped down the stairs. "Pantages Theatre is hardly far away, anyhow. Besides, William said he'd drive us. We'll make it in time."

"Are you remembering that we have to pass the traffic light on our way?"

"Yes, Florence, I remember. I'll hurry. We wouldn't want you late seeing William, would we?" Winnie stopped in front of the mirror, as Florence scoffed. "Which hat?" She alternated placing two on her head, before she turned to her friend.

"Winnifred, please," she urged. Winnie didn't move. Sighing, Florence answered, "The blue one."

"That's just what I thought," Winnie said, dancing towards the door, "Better hurry, we can't keep your dear William waiting!"

"He's not my William."

"But he's dear?" Winnie grinned. She ran out out of the house, and down the steps, turning back when she reached the bottom.

"I'll race you!" She called, as Florence joined her on the street.

"Winnie."

"Fine, walk if you'd like. It'll make it easier for me to win," she said, as she took off running. They were to meet William at his automobile repair shop, where he would drive the girls to Pantages Theatre. William was Winnie's childhood friend, and she had introduced him to Florence. Although neither would admit it, Winnie was certain that they liked one another. Her heels clicked on the streets as she passed the bakery, the bank, and the jeweller's. She slowed as  
she saw the scrawling on the sign that said: "Wilson and Barr's Automobiles." Smiling, she walked through the open door, the smell of oil and gasoline reaching her nose. A man turned to her, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Miss Fairbairn, I'm surprised to see you," he said.

"Mr. Wilson, it's lovely to see you too. May I ask where William is?" Winnie replied.

"He's in the other room," Mr. Wilson responded. "I'll call him."

"Nonsense, Mr. Wilson. Get back to your work. I'll find him," she walked towards the other door, Mr. Wilson looking surprised at her forwardness. He turned, again surprised, when he heard another lady's voice.

"Winnifred, where are you going?" Florence said. She was given no answer, so Florence followed her, forgetting herself for a moment and saying nothing to Mr. Wilson.

In the other room, William Barr glanced up from his desk to see an excited Winnie and a frowning Florence. She had just remembered she hadn't greeted Mr. Wilson. He reached towards the radio, turning down the volume of the play-by-play of the Toronto St. Patricks ice hockey game.

"William, dear, Flo is thrilled to see you," Winnie said pointedly after spotting Florence's small frown. "And I am too, of course." She sat down on his desk. "Who are they playing?" She nodded at the radio.

"Good morning, ladies," William said, smiling. "The St. Pats are playing the Bruins, with a one-nothing lead."

"Perhaps they'll win. Unfortunately, dear William, we have to drag you away from your radio. You promised to drive us to the theatre, remember?" Winnie said.

"Of course, yes. I'll meet you on the street in a minute," he answered.

Together, Florence and Winnie walked onto the street, and Florence remembered to say goodbye to Mr. Wilson on the way out. Florence briefly scolded Winnie for being so rude to Mr. Wilson, but Winnie ignored her, as per usual. Those who knew these unlikely friends described Winnie as carefree and flighty, whereas they described Florence as practical and sensible. Although it seemed like Winnie was always annoying Florence, Florence enjoyed the whimsy girl's company, she always felt more free when she was around her. Winnie liked Florence's company, because she knew that Florence was rooted and she would always be able to count on her. They were good for each other, despite the fact that their opinions were often contrary and their behaviour opposite.

"Ladies, shall we?" William's voice came from behind them, and Winnie turned to him and grinned.

"Of course, dear William. Florence, you can sit next to William," she cheerily climbed into the back seat. She was determined to get William and Florence together. Florence had actually confided in her about her belief that she might have feelings for William. Florence had been worried that Winnie held feelings for William, but Winnie laughed at the notion, replying that he was like her brother. Since then, Winnifred did everything she could to get the two to interact, and Florence was less than pleased. She was not one to act on her feelings, she refused to instigate anything. She firmly believed that a gentleman should come forward to express his interest in a lady, and never the other way around. When Winnie suggested it, she had been appalled.

"What movie are you two seeing?" William asked.

"Go West," Florence answered. "It's a Buster Keaton film."

"I like Buster Keaton," Winnie said. "I think he's handsome."

"Really?" Florence asked. "I never thought so."

"Well, of course not, nobody catches your eye," said Winnie. "Nobody, that is, except for-"

"Mind your business, Winnifred, not mine." Winnie giggled, Florence rolled her eyes, and William smiled. He had suspected that Florence had feelings for him, not from her actions, but from Winnie's. He noticed that Winnie always pushed them together, and after knowing Winnie for nearly 20 years, he knew when she was trying to set him up with someone.

A few minutes of Winnie playfully joking with William and Florence led to them arriving at the theatre. William pulled up in front of the theatre, and hopped out to open the door for the two of them. Winnie took William's hand and stepped out, the turned back to reach for her purse. It wasn't there.

"Oh dear! William, you wouldn't happen to have two bits on you that I could borrow? I forgot my purse back at the house," Winnie said. William sighed, but he still had a small smile on his face. He reached into his pocket.

"Here you are, Winnie. Try to remember to pay me back this time, though," William said.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, dear William," Winnie laughed. She hugged him goodbye, then she and Florence walked into the theatre.

 **A/N: Hello, I'm My Dear Frodo, and welcome to the story. Thanks for giving it a chance. I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep reading, and give a review. I'm not sure if this is any good, so I'd love feedback. Let me know, and thanks for reading. And don't worry, Newt and his suitcase full of fantastic beasts will be arriving in the next chapter.**


	2. Suitcase Surprise

Winnie leaned over and whispered to Florence.

"I'm going to the restroom," she said. Florence nodded, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Winnie stood, shuffling past the people seated in their chairs. She walked out of the dark theatre, her eyes adjusting to the light-filled entrance room. She searched around for the lavatory, and began walking towards it. She heard some commotion coming from down the hall, and she jogged towards it. Winnie spotted a strange looking animal at the end of the hallway. She wasn't usually the adventurous type, but she thought it was an adorable creature. As she continued walking, she stared right at it, faling to notice an open suitcase on the floor. When her foot reached the suitcase, she didn't feel a floor below. She glanced down, and tried placing her foot down again, into what looked like darkness. She tried again, more and more, until she fell in.

She didn't mean to fall in. She didn't think she would, because how could she? It was a suitcase. So she put both feet in, she jumped in. And then she fell.

She landed on her bottom. Her eyes had closed while she was falling, and she was hesitant to open them. When she did, she was met with a strange sight.

"What on Earth," she muttered. Moving around her were large black beetles, with large pincers and large everything. They were standing on two legs, rolling large balls of something around with their two front legs.

Winnie was terrified. Naturally, she screamed. Then cried. And fainted.

How did this all happen so quickly?

When she woke up, there was a new creature staring at her. It was tall, had reddish-brown hair, and blue eyes. To Winnie's relief, it was a human.

"Who are you?" They asked, in sync.

"Winnifred Fairbairn," she answered first.

"Newt Scamander," he responded. "Ms. Fairbairn, may I ask what you're doing in my suitcase?"

"You're English," was her rather uncreative response.

"Um, yes. I suppose I am," he said. "But again, I must ask, how did you get in here?" Winnie noticed that he wasn't looking directly at her, and he was sort of hunched over.

"Well, I guess I fell in."

"You fell?"

"Yes, it was open, and there was this strange creature, and I was walking, and- How did I fall in? It's a suitcase. You can't fall in a suitcase. How did this happen? What was that thing? Why do you have a suitcase that people can fall in? Why are you inside a suitcase? Why am I inside a suitcase? Are we still in Toronto?" She paused, and Mr. Scamander was about to speak, when she asked one more question. "And why are you English?"

"Um, yes, those are all reasonable questions. Except for 'Why are you English?" That's not a reasonable question."

"Why not?"

"I- I don't know. It just isn't," he answered. "I suppose you're a muggle." Winnie didn't know what he was saying. In fact, she heard juggle.

"Juggle? What do you mean? I can't juggle. Well, I've never tried. I've always just assumed," she said. Then she came to her senses, which was rare for her. She decided not to try to make sense of this, because clearly there was no sense to be found. "Mr. Scamander, I must insist that you let me leave your suitcase. I have to get back to Florence and watch the rest of the movie. I didn't get to see the ending."

"Right. Of course. You see, there's a slight problem," he answered. "You asked, among other things, if we were still in Toronto."

"Are you saying we're not?"

"Not quite."

"Not quite?" She squeaked.

"We're on a ship heading to Saint-Pierre," he replied, looking rather guilty.

"Saint-Pierre? The island? This is unacceptable! You must take me back. Florence and William will be wondering after me. You need to-" She was interrupted by an unusual creature behind Mr. Scamander.

"Wow, you're ugly!" The being said. To Winnie, it resembled an overgrown ferret.

"It speaks?" She was beyond shocked. She began to think it was a dream, but she quickly dismissed that thought. She always knew when she was dreaming, somehow. This time, she knew it was real.

"You smell," it answered.

"That's a jarvey. It does speak, although I wish it wouldn't," Mr. Scamander told her.

"Shut up, ape," the jarvey told him.

"Your face is uglier than your mother's, and that's saying something," the man said. The jarvey looked like it was glaring, although Winnie couldn't be sure, because up to that point in her life, she had never seen a talking ferret. The jarvey muttered something, and left the room.

"You were rude," Winnie told Mr. Scamander.

"I had to be, otherwise it wouldn't have left us alone."

"So, that was a jarvey?" She asked.

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"A jarvey, you just said so yourself," Newt Scamander didn't understand why she was confused.

"Yes, I did. But it doesn't exist. Talking ferrets don't exist. Neither do suitcases that you can live in. Or giant beetles, or English people, or- Actually, I guess English people do exist. My neighbour is English. He came over to Canada in 1914, I was thirteen. He was rude," she rambled.

"Right, I keep forgetting. You're a muggle," he responded. Winnie noticed he was still looking down, he hadn't made eye contact with her the entire time. However, he had made eye contact with that strange beast, the jarvey. She thought that was strange, but she pushed the thought to the back of her head for the time being. "You see, Ms. Fairbairn, this is rather difficult to explain. I'm- I'm a wizard, and these are my magical creatures."

"No, that was straight-forward. It doesn't make any sense, but it was straight-forward," Winnie replied.

"Um, right. Well, I suppose I should try to make more sense. I've never done this- explained magic to a muggle. How interesting. Right, better get started."

 **A/N: At least Newt's finally entered the picture. Is he terribly OOC? I hope it's okay, please let me know. Thanks for reading! I'm rather nervous about this fanfic. I hope you liked it! Keep in mind: I don't own Newt Scamander or his suitcase full of beasts or the jarvey, all belong to JK Rowling and those people.  
**


	3. Ship to Saint-Pierre

Newt Scamander was many things. He was English, intelligent, kind, awkward, and that's just the beginning. But today, Newt Scamander was shocked.

Winnie could tell. She saw that despite the fact that his everyday experience were extremely different from hers, this hadn't happened before. And she had to admit, she was rather pleased.

She wasn't pleased that she had fallen into a suitcase, but she enjoyed thinking that this strange man was shocked by her, someone who she thought was ordinary.

When Mr. Scamander had finished explaining to her about the hidden wonders of the world, she had been fascinated. Who wouldn't be? She heard of things she hadn't imagined to be real since childhood- wizards, witches, unicorns, mermaids. Mr. Scamander believed that after his explanation, Winnie would be satisfied. Unluckily for him, it just led to more questions.

"A magic-zoologist? What's that?" She asked him, leaning almost uncomfortably close to Mr. Scamander.

"A magizoologist. It's a profession. I study creatures of the wizarding world," he answered.

"And you spoke of a hog wart?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said.

"Who would name a school after an infection on a pig? That's ridiculous," Winnie said. She was confused, interested, and worried all at the same time. She shook her head. "I keep distracting myself. I need to get to Florence and dear William. They'll be lost without me, and nobody is there to push them together when I'm gone. Would you please let me out of your suitcase now, Mr. Scamander?"

"Um, yes, I suppose I should. Although Florence and your "dear" William will have to wait for you a while longer," he said.

"Oh yes, you mentioned. Well, I can't quite believe you. I'd have to be blind not to believe in magic and strange creatures. I'm in a suitcase, after all. But Saint-Pierre? There's no way that I am on a boat heading there right now," she replied as daintily as she could.

"You can see for yourself," he answered, motioning towards a ladder in the corner in the room, finally looking up into her eyes. "You might not want to stay out too long, though. You would be considered a stowaway."

"A stowaway!" She shrieked. "Well, I never. That's ridiculous." She crossed her arms, and glanced at the ladder. "Do you think it would be terrible if I went out for a minute? Just to check?"

Mr. Scamander smiled, for the first time since they had met. He hadn't been trying to be rude by not smiling, he was just so surprised and confused that he hadn't thought to smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Winnie smiled back, then walked over to the ladder. Tentatively, she grabbed the first rung, but took her hand away seconds later.

"I'm sorry, but how do I get out? And what if someone were to see me climbing out of a suitcase?" She asked, perplexed.

"Just climb straight up, and push on the top. And no one will see you, we're in a restroom," was his attempt at an encouraging answer.

"Right, a restroom. Mr. Scamander, the magic English man, went into a restroom, locked the door, opened his suitcase, climbed inside, only to find some strange non-magical girl in a room inside his suitcase full of even stranger creatures. Today makes no sense whatsoever," she muttered, as she put her hand back on the rung. When she reached the top, she pushed the suitcase open, to find that she was inside of a stall. Sighing, she pulled herself out of the suitcase, and after staring at it for a good minute, closed it. She picked it up, opened the door, and found herself face to face with a rather large man with a rather large mustache. She squeaked.

"Miss, I think you're in the wrong restroom," the large man with the large mustache said in his large voice.

"Um, yes, you're quite right. I should leave," her voice waivered.

"Of course, Miss, I'll turn away," he responded.

"No, no, that's all right, I'm completely decent," she walked out of the stall again, but the man was not looking at her. Slowly, she opened the door to the restroom, and seeing that there was no one watching her, quickly slipped out.

She was definitely on a ship. The walls were all a dark grey metal, and she could see men dressed in uniform around the ship. She went to sit down in a chair so that she could look out the window, when she was stopped by one of the men.

"Ticket, please, ma'am," he said. Winnie panicked.

"I don't have it," she answered. "I mean, it's not here. It's- it's on a different deck, I must have left it somewhere."

"Name?"

"Um," she paused, not knowing what to say. She opted for her own name. "Winnie Fairbairn." The man flipped through papers on a clipboard, and shook his head.

"Sorry, ma'am, you're going to have to come with me," he said sternly.

"No, you don't understand, I'm not a stowaway. It's all a misunderstanding," she said. "I didn't even mean to be on the ship."

"Of course not. Let's go see the captain."

Winnie was annoyed. It wasn't her fault that she was on the ship. And Mr. Scamander said that it would be okay for her to leave the suitcase for a moment. She should never have listened to him. Why did she? Who listens to a magic man with a strange suitcase? And how did this all happen so quickly? One minute, she was watching a movie, the next, she was in a suitcase, and now she was about to be arrested on a ship heading to Saint-Pierre! She huffed. She had to get out of here somehow.

"Sir, I must go to the restroom," she said.

"Right."

"No, really, sir. It's an emergency," she repeated.

"Uh-huh."

"I'm having feminine issues," she lied. She knew it was a very taboo topic, and she was rather embarrased to bring it up. However, she had no plans to be arrested. She knew her breach of proper conduct had saved her, because the man stopped moving, and turned her towards the restroom.

"Be quick," he said. She grinned, thanked him, and hurrily waltzed into the restroom. She entered the nearest stall, reminiscing about the strange experience she had had minutes ago in the men's restroom, opened the suitcase, but found it surprisingly lacking in magic. She couldn't think of what to do, except to, well, knock. And to her surprise, it worked. Seconds later, Mr. Scamanders red-brown head popped out, and he grinned.

"Believe me now?"

"Yes, of course. But I'm about to be arrested, so would you mind letting me back into your suitcase?" She asked. Newt nodded, and climbed out of the suitcase so she could climb in.

"Are you alright to stay in the suitcase for the rest of the ride?" He asked her.

"No," she said. "But I don't see another option." She climbed down, stopping halfway and looking out of the suitcase to see Newt still standing there. She gathered that he planned to close the suitcase on her and walk around, and she remembered that they were now in the women's restroom. She realized that he probably thought that they were still in the men's restroom. After considering telling him, but deciding that this would be satisfying yet subtle payback, she continued climbing down the ladder, and waved at him when she reached the bottom.

"Do you mind if I look around?" She asked.

"Um, I suppose not. Just... try not to touch anything." And with that, he shut the suitcase.

 **A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems rushed. To be honest, it kind of was. You guys are honestly amazing, and your reviews were so encouraging! Please feel free to leave a review again! A couple people asked if this was a Newt/OC romance, and to be honest, I'm not quite sure yet. I find planning stories tedious, so while I have a general idea of what will happen, I haven't planned how their relationship will develop. I'm just going to let it happen how it happens. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. I don't own Newt Scamander or anything you recognize.**


	4. Puffskeins and Dugbogs

Winnie sighed. She had been waiting for Mr. Scamander to come back for a few hours. The minute he had left, she started wandering around, looking at the beautiful, strange creatures around her, but soon she began to get bored. Not that anyone could get bored of these animals, each one was as fantastic as the one before. She was bored because she was a people person, and she had no one to talk to, unless you counted the jarvey, which Winnie certainly did not. So after a few minutes, she found her way back to the room she had originally fallen into. She sat right beside the ladder, glancing up every few minutes, hoping that he would come back down so she wouldn't be alone. She didn't know how long it took to get to Saint-Pierre, but she imagined it couldn't be longer than half a day.

What she found the hardest was not knowing. Although she may not have seemed like it, she was rather intelligent. Not genius level intelligent, but she was smart enough to figure out what was going on, at least under normal circumstances. She was the type of person to become nervous when she didn't know what _exactly_ was going to happen next, and she definitely didn't know exactly what would happen next. Her expectations of the day had changed the second she fell into Mr. Scamander's suitcase.

Without realizing it was happening, she fell asleep. Despite being nervous about the days to come, she found it easy to close her heavy eyes and drift to sleep. Unfortunately, she only got to sleep for a few minutes, before she was awoken by someone calling her.

"Ms. Fairbairn?" The man called. "Ms. Fairbairn!" It took Winnie a while to place the voice. When she remembered her earlier adventures, she instantly opened her eyes.

"Oh, Mr. Scamander! You were gone for a while," she said, smiling. "I began to look around, but I found myself absolutely confused without anyone to explain the creatures to me. Would you mind showing me around?" What she said surprised her. She had known him for less than a day, and to her it sounded like she was being exceedingly forward! She felt the need to correct herself, to come across as a little less forward than she did. "If you have time, of course. I'd completely understand if you needed to go back out, and do... whatever you usually do."

"No, no! Actually, I, uh, I have time, Ms. Fairbairn. I have to make my rounds anyway," he said. He looked up at her.

"Oh! Great! This is fantastic," Winnie exclaimed. "You certainly have some strange creatures in her, Mr. Scamander."

"Yes, Ms. Fairbairn, I do," he replied cheerily. Newt Scamander was excited that Winnie was excited about his collection of creatures.

"I don't mean to be forward, but I would prefer it if you were to call me Winnie. It's much more comfortable for me," she said.

"Then I insist that you call me Newt," he replied. Winnie grinned. She enjoyed getting to know Newt. He seemed to be an interesting character.

"Is that your real name?"

"No, um, it's Newton."

"After the scientist?" Winnie asked.

"Who?"

"Isaac Newton? The man who discovered gravity?"

"That sounds vaguely familiar," Newt answered, nodding slightly.

"I suppose you don't learn about 'muggle' science at the 'hog wart'," she said, Newt not bothering to correct her. "Well, I guess magic is more interesting than science anyhow. Now, let's go. I want to see every creature you have."

"That may not be possible. One of them is often invisible," he responded, walking forward, and motioning for Winnie to follow. He moved without hesitation, which Winnie hadn't yet seen him do. He definitely knew what he was doing – Winnie suspected that he did it every day. He moved almost thoughtlessly, and Winnie thought that he looked almost graceful.

"Hold these, please," he said. He handed two fluffy spheres to her. She held one in one hand, and inspected the other one in her other hand. She turned it around a bit, then saw it had a face!

"It's adorable! What is it?" She asked, noticing that he was dumping what looked old, but not rotting, mashed potatoes and chicken into a box.

"A puffskein," he replied.

"What's it do?"

"Not much," he said. "It's soft, doesn't mind being cuddled, and it eats."

"Then what makes it a _magical_ creature?" She asked, squinting as she held the puffskeins close to her, absently petting them.

"It has a very long tongue that will snake through a building, searching for food," Newt responded. "Tongues of unlimited size aren't something you see very often in the muggle world."

"Oh. That makes sense," she nodded. "So what's in Saint-Pierre? And what was in Toronto?"

"There's a flying seahorse breeder living in Saint-Pierre. They breed a very specific and rare breed of flying seahorse. And in Toronto I was searching for the Canadian dugbog."

"And a dugbog is?"

"A marsh-dwelling creature that looks like a piece of wood," he answered. Winnie laughed.

"Sounds like a rather dull magical creature," she replied.

"Not at all. It's actually quite interesting once you study it," he said, stiffening a bit.

"Oh, I really didn't mean to offend you, it's just the way you said it," she stated quickly.

"No, no, it's alright." He relaxed.

"So you have work to do in Saint-Pierre?" Winnie asked, reluctantly returning the puffskeins to Newt when he held out his hand.

"I guess you could say that," he motioned her to follow him again, and handed her some other odd creature.

"Newt?"

"Yes?" He turned to look at her, although he didn't look directly at her, more at the creature she was holding.

"Do you know when the next boat is returning to Toronto? Not that I'm not enjoying this, it's just that I can't disappear without a trace, Florence would worry," she said.

"Actually, um, yes. There's a boat leaving in two days," he said. "But you can telephone them before that." Winnie was relieved. She didn't really want to leave Newt and his suitcase, but she knew that she needed to talk to Florence, and let her know where she was.

"That's a huge relief, thank you," she said, and Newt nodded and smiled. "This may sound odd," she began. "But I'm glad I fell into your suitcase. If I hadn't, I think today would have been a lot duller."

Newt didn't really know how to respond. Nothing like this had happened before. So in an effort to be polite, he told her, "I'm glad you fell into my suitcase as well."

But it wasn't just polite, it was true.

 **A/N: You guys are the sweetest people I've ever met. No joke. Your review make my day and encourage me to write as soon as I get home from school! So please, please, please, keep reviewing! Thanks for all of the follows and favourites as well, they mean so much to me. I'm not sure what you guys will think of this chapter, I tried to slow it down because I felt like last chapter was too fast, but let me know what you like better. I tried to build their relationship a bit in this chapter, I hope it worked. Thanks again! I don't own anything you recognize.**


	5. Stories in Hotels

"Newt?" Winnie called, walking out of her room. Newt had decided it would be best for them to find a hotel. With a lack of choice, Newt and Winnie found themselves in a hotel that was temporarily home to quite a number of notorious gangsters.

"Over here!" He answered. Winnie could hear his voice coming from the kitchenette attached to their rooms. She walked over, searching for him, and finally spotted him seated at a small table, bent over a book with a quill in his hand.

"I thought I'd better ask," she said. Moving closer to him, she glanced at the book he was writing in. He seemed to be writing notes, and Winnie assumed it was about his creatures.

"Ask what?" He didn't look up.

"Is this a dream?" He turned to her, and

"I don't think so. It's not mine, but I couldn't tell you if it was yours," he answered, then turned back around.

"I don't think it is. I just don't see how I'd be able to come up with all of this," she said, waving her hand towards him and his suitcase. "I'm not quite _that_ clever."

"I'm sure you're very clever," he answered, still scribbling away in his book.

She sat down across from him, and watched him for a moment. He had a very interesting face, and even more interesting mannerisms. She would almost describe him a shy, except that wasn't exactly true. He was friendly enough, after all, they've known each other for a day and they were able to have polite conversations. Perhaps he was just quiet? Winnie wasn't sure, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe he was shy, but Winnie's outgoing nature just offset it. Whatever the case, she didn't mind. She leaned forward.

"What are you writing?"

"Notes. I've been commissioned to write a book on various magical creatures," he responded, still staring down at his little book.

"That's exciting! Can I see?" She asked, a huge smile on her face.

"Um, yes, I suppose you can," he said, glancing at her, then back at the book. He tentatively handed over the book. She read the notes on the page that was open.

 _Billywig – M.O.M. Classification: XXX_

 _Vivid sapphire blue, around half an inch long, Australian insect_

 _Wings attached to top of head_

 _Has a long stinger that, when stung, can cause giddiness, and levitation_

"Have you ever been stung by a billywig?" She asked. He grinned.

"Yes, quite a few times, actually," he said. "I was in Australia for about a month, and there was this one pesky billywig that would follow me around..." Winnie noticed how his eyes lit up when he talked about these creatures. He was very passionate about his magizoology. Winnie noticed that she wasn't really listening, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. '...and when I found the tooth, I had to return it, of course, because the other man I was with had never been to a beach before..." Winnie was confused. She had only stopped listing for a few seconds, how had he gotten on such a different-sounding subject? She tried to form a connection in her head, but only realized that she had zone out _yet again._ "...this time without the trousers. Unfortunately, the frog had gotten away, but the billywig was still there, and I managed to fish the net out of the pond and catch it," he finished.

He said billywig again, so it must've been all connected. But she couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because she was still groggy after waking up. All that Winnie got out of his ramble was that he was in Australia, and a billywig was following him, he found a tooth that he then returned because a man had never been to a beach, and then someone wasn't wearing trousers, and a frog got away, but he got his net from the bottom of a pond and caught the billywig, presumably the same one from earlier.

"Right," Winnie said, pretending that she understood everything that Newt had said.

"You didn't get a word of that, did you?" He asked, surprisingly animated still. She was worried that if she had told him that she had zoned out that he would have thought that she was bored, but she wasn't. She was just distracted. But Newt seemed to find this amusing, Winnie believed that he was still excited from telling his billywig story.

"Not really," she admitted sheepishly. "I think I'm still waking up. If I'd been fully awake, I'd probably have understood you."

"I don't think that would've made much of a difference. Nobody really understands that story. It's just here and there, it's not a very easy story to understand," he answered, grinning slightly. Winnie grinned back.

"Well, what I heard of it sounded very interesting," she said, standing up. "Do you think we could find a telephone? I need to ring Florence, she'll be worried."

"Of course, um," he paused, thinking. "I think I saw one at the reception on the way in." He stood as well.

"Right," Winnie said. "It's just that... the people hear are a bit scary. Do you think we could find a telephone in a more upstanding establishment?"

"I'm not sure if we'll find much more of a respectable establishment in St. Pierre," he said. "It's become an island with quite the reputation of smuggling."

"Yes, I've heard. Well, I suppose I'll only be on the phone for a moment. Will you come with me?" She asked. To be honest, she was a bit afraid. She'd been close to somebody who'd had unfortunate dealings with smugglers, and she didn't want to be associated with any of them. She knew that they could be dangerous, and while Winnie didn't usually mind danger much, she wasn't interested in getting involved in any while she was so far from home.

"Yes, um, of course," he said, motioning to the door. "After you." They exited the room, both lost in their thoughts.

 **A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to post, I've been very busy lately with homework as it's the last week before Christmas break! Thank you to the many** ** _many_** **people who have followed, favourited, and reviewed! It's wonderful to see such a positive reaction, and I hope this chapter is good. PLEASE let me know what you think in a review or a message! It means the world to me to know what you think, whether it be praise or criticism! Thank you so much for reading. I own nothing you recognize.**


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